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Blogging faster with Alfred

One thing I love about using a Mac is some of the creative software that is only developed for the Mac. One of my favorite apps is called Alfred. It is essentially a keybord launcher which is not exclusive to the Mac platform but Alfred is more than a launcher because it has Workflows. Workflows allow you to download and create all kinds of wild a crazy things to help you work faster and more error free.

One thing I love to do is share links to websites that I think other may find value from. Typically sharing a link like that requires that I click into the address bar and copy the URL. Then in WordPress I have to paste that into a link and write the headline. Not a ton of steps but if I am busy with other things it might be too much to ask. It turns out someone created a Workflow just for this:
Send URL – Share your Workflows – Alfred App Community Forum

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Create a great product then sell it

One mentality is that with the right sales pitch and landing page you can sell ice to an eskimo. The problem is that you are selling to make a sale instead of selling to deliver a useful product to your clients. This can breed resentment or even worse allow a competitor to come along with something the client actually needs.
This video of Steve Jobs pontificating about the demise of Monopolistic companies like Xerox and IBM strikes a chord with small businesses as well. While the video discusses issues at very very large companies the thinking is applicable to all size businesses.

Sure Sales and Marketing are important and investing in good training, well designed branding, and a healthy internet presence will help you sell more product. The pitfall that Steve points out in this short video is that at the end of the day what people are buying is the product. If you focus on Sales and Marketing too much there is a possibility that the product will diminish in quality and effectiveness.